Chapter 7 - The Tunnels of New York
The shockwave threw Tessa violently backward, slamming her hard against the edge of the heavy wardrobe.
Her ears rang with a deafening, high-pitched squeal as thick, gray smoke instantly filled the luxurious bedroom.
Gabriel was on his feet in a fraction of a second, drawing a sleek tactical pistol from his shoulder holster.
"Get down," Gabriel roared over the wailing of the compound's emergency sirens.
Gunfire erupted from the courtyard outside, the rapid, staccato popping of automatic assault rifles tearing through the night.
The Lupatti syndicate had breached the perimeter.
Gabriel grabbed Tessa by the arm, hauling her off the floor with bruising force.
"They tracked you here," Gabriel shouted, pulling her toward the hallway.
"They don't care about my father anymore, they want the money Cosenza left you."
Tessa stumbled over the debris, her mind struggling to accept that she was now a high-value target in a mafia war.
They burst into the hallway, only to find two of Gabriel's heavily armed guards lying dead in a pool of blood.
"This way," Gabriel commanded, dragging her toward the grand staircase.
He bypassed the stairs entirely, kicking open a hidden access panel disguised as a bookshelf.
A dark, narrow tunnel spiraled downward into the cold earth beneath the mansion.
"Move fast and don't look back," he ordered, pushing her into the suffocating darkness.
Tessa scrambled down the concrete steps, relying purely on adrenaline and terror to keep her legs moving.
Gabriel followed closely behind, sealing the heavy steel door just as a barrage of bullets shattered the wood where they had just stood.
The tunnel was pitch black, smelling of damp earth and old copper pipes.
Gabriel pulled a small flashlight from his pocket, casting a weak, trembling beam ahead of them.
"These tunnels lead to an emergency exit two miles into the forest," he explained, his breathing heavy.
They ran for what felt like an eternity, the terrifying muffled thuds of explosions vibrating through the dirt above them.
Suddenly, Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks, holding his hand up.
Tessa crashed into his back, biting her tongue to suppress a scream.
The flashlight beam illuminated a horrifying sight in front of them.
The tunnel had completely collapsed, blocking their path with tons of jagged concrete and twisted rebar.
They were trapped underground.
Gabriel cursed violently in Italian, turning around to assess their options.
But as he turned, the flashlight beam caught a reflection in the darkness behind them.
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Standing thirty feet away, blocking their only exit, was a man holding a tactical shotgun aimed directly at Gabriel's chest.
It was Don Salvatore Rossi.
